DENVER -- The Rockies will unveil statues of the franchise’s two Hall of Famers, Larry Walker and Todd Helton, at Coors Field this season, the club announced during its annual Rockies Fest on Saturday.
The statue of Walker will be unveiled on Aug. 23 prior to the Rockies’ 1:10 p.m. MT game against the Guardians. The statue of Helton, who was unable to attend Rockies Fest on Saturday due to illness, will be unveiled on Sept. 19 prior to the 6:10 p.m. game against the Mariners.
“Obviously, we have two retired numbers up there, 33 and 17, to commemorate their incredible achievements as Colorado Rockies, both Todd and Larry,” said executive vice president Walker Monfort.
“ … We took it a step further, so we got together and decided we ought to also commemorate, here at Coors Field, the fact that they are also both members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.”
Both statues are being created by Longmont, Colo., sculptors George and Mark Lundeen of Lundeen Sculptures, two of the most renowned sculptors in the world.
Walker, who played for the Rockies from 1995-2004, became the first player in franchise history to be elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020. The right fielder was a four-time All-Star, a five-time Gold Glove Award winner and a three-time batting champion with Colorado. He also won the 1997 National League MVP Award, the only MVP honor in club history.
Helton played all 17 of his Major League seasons with the Rockies and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024. He was a five-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner at first base. Helton also won the NL batting title by hitting .372 in 2000, a season in which he led the Majors with a 1.161 OPS, 59 doubles and 147 RBIs.
“The number being retired, and you walk in the ballpark and I see 33 out there, trust me, it melts my heart,” said Walker, who was on hand for the announcement. “It’s a pretty cool honor. And then when that phone call comes and says we’re going to put a statue outside of the ballpark that’s going to be there forever … it’s out of this world.”
Walker, who is the only position player born in Canada to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (pitcher Ferguson Jenkins is the other Canadian with a plaque in Cooperstown), was a member of Colorado’s famed Blake Street Bombers in the mid-1990s along with fellow sluggers Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, Vinny Castilla and Andres Galarraga.
A five-tool player who finished with a .313/.400/.565 slash line (141 OPS+), 383 home runs, 230 steals, three batting titles and seven Gold Glove Awards over 17 Major League seasons, Walker began his career with the Expos and played the final two seasons of his career with the Cardinals.
Helton posted a career .316/.414/.539 slash line (133 OPS+) with 369 home runs, and he helped the Rockies reach the World Series in 2007 following an incredible late-season run to reach the postseason. He also helped Colorado return to the playoffs in '09.
One of the most iconic scenes in Rockies history is Helton looking to the sky with arms raised and fists clenched, with his foot still on the bag after receiving the ball to record the final out of the 2007 NL Championship Series.
Whether that will be Helton’s pose on his statue is unknown -- as is how Walker’s statue will look -- and will be seen for the first time at the unveiling.
But for the more than 500 people who attended Rockies Fest on a frigid day in the Mile High City and Rockies fans everywhere, Saturday’s announcement marked a special moment in the team’s lore.
“We’re capturing our history,” Monfort said. “And we want to be able to explain our history to future generations and the kids that are running around here that didn’t have a chance to see [Walker and Helton] play. … That’s why it’s so important to us.”